In the garden, Ruikang put Xunmei down and asked Shu Zhi to take his sister to play first, while he stared at Ruojun coldly, Ruojun was very uncomfortable staring at him, turned around to avoid his eyes, and said, "What are you doing?" ”

"I'm wondering something." He said.

"What's the matter?" Mei Ruojun was a little flustered.

"I'm wondering if you're interested in my marriage. Is it? He asked her sarcastically.

She didn't understand why he said that, but her heart jumped for some reason, and she shook her head and said, "I don't understand what you're talking about." ”

"You don't understand? You're so active in helping your sister, don't you just want to match me with her? He gradually raised his voice.

Her heart sank, she was a little unreasonable, she turned back to look at him, and wanted to apologize to him, but between his eyebrows was endless annoyance and anger, she didn't know how to apologize, and he said aggressively: "You asked me to go to your house to create an opportunity for me to meet Wakari, isn't it?" ”

"I ......" as if the lie had been exposed, her face was hot, and she struggled for a moment and whispered, "Yes." I'm sorry, Ruikang, Ruoli she loves you, I can't bear to let her down ......."

"Yes, you're so great, you can't bear it, so you just give me away like a gift, don't you?" He yelled at her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her anger making her feel sad, he didn't know the struggles and contradictions in her heart, the tip of her nose was sour, and she just wanted to shed tears.

"You care so much about my marriage, why don't you care about my heart? You only know that if the pear loves me, then do you know who I love? He was almost about to blurt out, but the last shred of his sanity suppressed his tongue, and he looked at her with a frown and pain.

She looked up at him violently, looking at him with fear, if he said it, then the two of them would fall into hell forever, and she shook her head again and again, her eyes were full of pleading, and said, "No, don't say it, I beg you" She stepped back step by step.

She was so frightened, she was frightened, her face was pale, her body couldn't help trembling, she wanted to run away, he grabbed her, forcibly endured his anger, eased for a moment, and tried to say in a calm voice: "Your father is not very good, tonight you told your father and mother that you want to go home tomorrow, I will help you on the side." ”

After that, he left her and went back to Yongmei Garden alone.

In the evening, Ruojun was in the hall thinking about the idea of the second elder of the Zhou family proposing to go home to have a look, Master Zhou lit his pipe, squinted his eyes and took a breath and said, "Ahem, since your father is seriously ill, then you can go back and have a look." ”

Mrs. Zhou frowned and glanced at Ruojun, and said, "Well, then let's go back and have a look," and turned to Cuiliu and said, "Go and prepare some money and gifts, let Ruojun bring them back." ”

"Mother, don't break the bank."

Mrs. Zhou raised her eyebrows and glanced at her and said lightly: "This is a courtesy, let you go back to your parents' house empty-handed, so that others will think of our Zhou family?" ”

Ruojun hung her head and stood there, her mother-in-law's attitude towards her was becoming colder and stricter day by day, she knew in her heart that she had better keep her mouth shut.

"Well, but, Ruojun, you are the daughter-in-law of our Zhou family, and you will come back when you go back to see. You know? ”

Ruojun nodded, Mrs. Zhou took a sip of tea, and said leisurely: "Let Zhou Fu and Cuiliu accompany you back." Zhou Fu is calm and reliable, and Cuiliu is careful and clever. ”

"Mother, let Ruojun stay at her mother's house for a few more days, her father is really not good." Ruikang said on the side.

"Nope." Mrs. Zhou didn't raise her head, and said categorically: "The daughter-in-law of the Zhou family has to abide by the rules, she is already a member of her mother-in-law's family, unless she is accompanied by her husband, how can she stay out alone?" ”

Ruojun looked up at Ruikang, is Daddy really bad? Oh my God, how bad is it? Could it be that Daddy is already critically ill? She searched for clues on his face, saw his eyebrows frowning, his eyes were full of worry, suddenly Ruojun's heart sank, like an arrow, he felt her gaze, and also turned his face and looked at her, he didn't want her to be too sad, he wanted to try not to look too dignified. Their eyes were entangled, and they forgot for a moment how inappropriate this was, although they were not flirting with each other, but those who had a heart seemed to have an ulterior motive.

"Ruikang, it's none of your business here, you go back to your room." Mrs. Zhou knocked the tea bowl in her hand on the table, and the knocking sound was enough to make Ruojun's heart tremble, and she quickly looked away and lowered her head.

Ruikang looked at Ruojun's thin body standing in the hall, not at ease, he was afraid that his mother would make it difficult for her, but he had no reason to stay, so he had to walk out of the hall slowly, he wandered around the garden, trying to sort out some of his thoughts, looked up at the twinkling stars in the sky, and let out a long sigh, he didn't know if Jiaqi had mentioned to his family that he was going to withdraw from the marriage, and he didn't know what Ruoli was sad about now, Jiaqi's understanding, gentle and generous, Ruoli's enthusiasm was like fire, youthful and lively, how could it be as good as a retrospective, a bowl of ginger soup? What kind of evil did you fall into? Although he has always refused to call Ruojun's sister-in-law, she is indeed his sister-in-law.

Vice! Vice! Vice! He kept cursing himself in his mind, he was simply a bastard, a brute, he pinched the corners of his eyes with his fingers, lowered his head, and swept the light of the study out of the corner of his eyes, and he was ashamed and contradictory in his heart, he hadn't chatted with his brother Ryan for a long time, it seemed that since Ruojun married into the Zhou family, he was attracted to her as if he was obsessed, and he ignored his brother who had been affectionate since he was a child, damn it, he scolded himself again in his heart.

With a guilty heart, Ruikang carefully knocked on the door of the study, and under the dim desk lamp, Ryan wrote quietly.

"Brother."

Ryan stopped the brush in his hand, raised his head and looked at his brother standing at the door, Ruikang walked to the desk, sat down, looked at his brother's words, his brother's words are very beautiful, better than his own writing, he has always felt sorry for his brother, he knows that his brother Ryan's talent in calligraphy and painting is far higher than his own, one hand willow body, swaying freely, vigorous and powerful, handsome and extraordinary, as the saying goes, see words and know people, Ruikang thought that his brother's heart must be a talented and noble person, in order to have such attainments.

He smiled and praised: "Brother, your calligraphy is really getting better and better, and my little brother is really ashamed of himself." ”

Ryan sat on the chair and looked at him in a daze, his eyes were unfathomable, Ruikang frowned, turned his face away, he was a little afraid to look directly into his brother's gaze.

"Brother, how are you? We haven't talked in a long time. ”

Ryan just looked at him, and Ruikang shook his head in distress and said, "Brother, I know you can speak and can speak, but why do you just refuse to speak?" ”

"Are you angry? Elder brother? Are you angry with me? Ruikang stepped forward and squatted down and held Ryan's hand, although his words were a little clueless, but this was his inner thought, he hoped that his brother could forgive him, and even hoped that his brother could fulfill him.

Ryan leaned back in his chair and looked at his brother, a hint of pity appeared on his face, and he closed his eyes and shook his head.

Brother's shaking of his head did not make Ruikang feel better, but felt a little heavier on his chest, since he was a child, his brother always let him, he remembered that he was ignorant when he was a child, and he mischievously hid his brother's crutches, and his brother couldn't walk, he fell, and his mother was angry and wanted to beat himself, it was his brother Ryan who interceded and let himself avoid being beaten, and, when he was a child, Master Zhou checked his homework, whenever he couldn't memorize it, his brother Ryan would always quietly remind himself on the side, and ...... And ....... still have too many memories, how harmonious and friendly the two brothers were.

Ruikang's eyes kept flashing with all kinds of childhood things, and the more he thought about it, the more ashamed he became, he faced his brother shamelessly, stood up violently and said:

"Brother, I was wrong, I was very wrong, I'm sorry, brother, I know what to do."

Ryan's eyes couldn't help but widen, grabbed Ruikang's sleeve, looked at him a little nervously, with a questioning face, suddenly picked up the brush, moistened the pen on the palette, and quickly sketched a few strokes on the drawing paper, Ryan's painting skills are indeed good, a few strokes, a beautiful plum blossom jumped on the paper, he dyed the petals of the plum blossom red with bright red, and suddenly the plum blossom became delicate and lovely, just like someone in their hearts.

Ruikang was stunned, he didn't know why his brother suddenly painted plum blossoms, Ryan finished painting, stared for a moment, looked at Ruikang again, and handed the painting to him.

Ruikang took the plum blossom and looked at Ryan puzzled, although he understood it in his heart, but this understanding made him a little unable to face it, and he didn't dare to speculate on his brother's intentions.

"Brother, what do you mean by that?" He frowned and asked Ryan, "Plum blossom, plum blossom, why did you send plum blossom to me?" ”

Ryan fell into the chair again, covering half of his face with one hand, his eyes were still so deep and complex that people couldn't see through, but the pain in his eyes was not so difficult to detect.

Ruikang's hand holding the plum blossom diagram trembled, his face became very grim, and he shook his head and said, "You want to ...... Give her (it) to me? ”

Ryan closed his eyes, Ruikang took a step back, he didn't know how his brother could do this suddenly, he already understood what he meant, wasn't this what he had always wanted? Doesn't that make sense? Isn't this a matter of course?

However, he suddenly realized that this was not what he wanted, he felt ashamed, he felt despicable and dirty, although he and Ruojun did not have any substantive behavior, but he had indeed thought about it a thousand times in his heart, but these dirty thoughts only existed in his mind, he did not show it, how could my brother know?

Ruikang suddenly felt that a beautiful plum blossom picture, like a piece of evidence with his despicable thoughts, a piece of evidence that proved how bad and shameless he was, he hurriedly threw the plum blossom picture back on the desk, as if he wanted to get rid of his evil thoughts, took two steps back, kept shaking his head and said: "No, no, no, brother, you misunderstood, she is yours, I don't want it (her), don't." ”

Ryan looked at his younger brother in surprise, and Ruikang turned around in pain and opened the door of the study and ran out.